


Ineffable Holiday: Hot Cocoa By the Fire

by livingforazirowley



Series: Ineffable Holiday 2019 [3]
Category: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: But they're such dorks, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Cuddling, Fluff, For the first time, Holidays, Hot Cocoa, Ineffable Holiday, It's the first time they cuddle, M/M, Winter, by the fire, i love them, kiss, prompt ficlet, soft, they kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:48:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21662440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livingforazirowley/pseuds/livingforazirowley
Summary: Days 3 and 15 of Ineffable Holiday prompt list.(Summary provided by @shit_happens_bitchachos7, thanks!):Aziraphale: let's cuddle... for science!Crowley: ...sure, science, I love science, always have. You could say I've loved science since the Garden. What were we talking about again?
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Series: Ineffable Holiday 2019 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1563967
Comments: 26
Kudos: 93
Collections: An Ineffable Holiday 2019





	1. Ineffable Holiday: Hot Cocoa

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Please know that I published the first chapter without planning on the second one. However, by popular claim (two people made comments about it, that's enough for me) I decided to write the second one. So, in case you read the first chapter when it was published, please know that I had to do some minor edits so it would all fit together.  
> If you liked the addition, please than Z A Dusk (snakeandmoon) on Ao3 and @hiveswap on Tumblr for suggesting it :)

Aziraphale wrapped his hands around the mug and inhaled the scent of hot cocoa. He hummed happily and made himself comfortable on the armchair. The fire was roaring, Christmas carols were playing in the background, the Armageddon had been averted and Crowley was sprawled on the sofa, legs perched on the back of it and browsing his phone.

“Check this out, angel!” Crowley stretched, feet up and head dangling in the air, to show Aziraphale a video of a snake befriending a white owl.

Aziraphale looked at the screen, delighted by the lovely scene.

“Such adorable creatures… They remind me of somebody, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.” The angel frowned and took a sip from the mug, thinking. He savoured the thick, sweet chocolate. Crowley turned the phone to take a second look at the video.

“Uh… Some people would say they look like us, I guess?”

“Is that so? Let me see them again…” Aziraphale looked again at the unusual pair for a bit longer than before. “I must admit they do resemble us in some way. I mean, it’s a snake and you are a serpent. And the owl has white wings, just like mine,” he took another sip, thoughtfully. “But I think that is everything we have in common with them. We are not even remotely as cuddly as they are.”

“We could be.” The words slipped out of Crowley’s mouth before he could stop himself.

Aziraphale hid himself behind another sip of hot cocoa, feeling flustered all of a sudden. He could feel his cheeks turning red (because of the heat of the cocoa and nothing else). Slowly, he swallowed and tried to look for something to break the awkward silence that had fallen upon them. “It’s good,” he finally managed.

“Yeah, it’s good. Cuddling is good, isn’t it? I bet this snake and owl would agree if they could talk. Can they talk? They can communicate with other serpents and owls. Oh, and humans cuddle all the time. That should mean something, humans are the kings of finding good things to do,” the demon rumbled as he got himself to a sitting position. He put his elbows on his knees and leaned forward.

“Wh- Well, I meant the cocoa, but-”

“Nkh” Crowley froze, feeling his cheeks turn a crimson red.

“I- I mean, perhaps cuddling is good too.” He wrinkled his nose momentarily before continuing. “As you very wisely put it, both animals and humans do it. Like eating or drinking, both very good activities. It seems only natural that we try it as well. To further widen our anthropological knowledge, that is.”

“Yeah, right. Widen our knowledge.” Crowley regained control over his limbs, although the blush refused to disappear.

Silence now reigned the room, only broken by the constant crackling of the fire and the occasional hot cocoa sip. They stayed like that for a while until one of them worked the courage to say something.

“Should we-”

“Yes.”

“Alright then.”

They both wiggled on their respective seats, unsure what to do next.

“Shall I?” Aziraphale asked, trying to be polite and pointing towards the sofa.

“Please.” Crowley made some room for the angel, who sat primly, mug still in his hands. “I think we’re supposed to sit back?” he added.

“Quite right, dear… Should I be the small fork?” Aziraphale asked, cupping the cocoa and staring at its content.

“Small-? It’s the little spoon, angel,” Crowley scorned him, trying to hide his own doubts about the whole situation. “Just- come here, would you?” he said, opening his arm in an inviting gesture. Aziraphale looked at him from the corner of his eye before hesitantly leaning against his side. The demon wrapped his arm around his shoulders, hand awkwardly hanging over Aziraphale’s chest.

Crowley had always seemed lean, all edges and angles and sharpness but it didn’t look like it affected the comfort of his embrace. A moment into it, Aziraphale could feel the heat coming out of Crowley’s body through the various layers of clothing. He could smell the demon’s cologne and feel his heartbeat. Aziraphale tried to against Crowley and took the last sip of hot cocoa.

“It’s good,” he muttered.

“The cocoa?” Crowley asked.

“The cuddling, dear,” he answered.


	2. Ineffable Holiday Day 15: By the Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following today's prompt from the Ineffable Holiday list, Crowley and Aziraphale keep on exploring cuddling for the sake of knowledge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hullo! This second chapter was not planned but today's prompt suited very nicely in this. However, I had to make some little changes to chapter 1 so they would fit properly (all of them are at the end of the chapter, just in case you'd like to reread it).
> 
> Anyway, I had a lot of fun writing this utter dorky fic. I just hope you have just as much fun as I did :)

Aziraphale blankly stared at the crackling fire for a while, not really seeing the dancing flames. He had miracled the empty cocoa mug away and now he didn’t really know what to do with his hands. His brain was overwhelmed by the slim demon cuddling him. Only now was he realising for how long he had been wishing for a moment like this. 

Crowley moved his hand to place it on the angel’s shoulder, where it rested more comfortably. Aziraphale held his breath until Crowley started drawing small patterns, caressing him. Just when the angel was relaxing into it once again, Crowley halted and withdrew his hand.

“I’m sorry, I- I didn’t mean to- is it-” Crowley stuttered.

“No, no. Please, dear, continue. If you would like to, that is,” Aziraphale quickly answered. He instinctively raised his own hand to take Crowley’s back to where it was, but the demon had already resumed the gentle petting.

They stayed that way for a while, Aziraphale pretending to be hypnotised by the dancing fire but actually being hypnotised by the patterns Crowley was drawing, and Crowley entranced by the dancing reflections of light on the angel’s skin. 

After a few moments, Crowley regained enough confidence to tentatively restart breathing. Aziraphale’s latest cologne invaded all his senses, making him feel a little bit dizzy in the best possible way. Just like when you have drunk the exact amount of alcohol to find everything funny while still aware of your surroundings. Without planning, he drew the angel closer and sniffed his hair, curls tickling his nose. He opened his eyes widely and tensed, waiting for Aziraphale to react. Sniffing his hair? That surely would grant him a kick in the ass for being a weirdo.

“Your cologne is delightful, Crowley,” Aziraphale said instead. “Where did you buy it?” Small talk seemed safe enough.

“Oh, uh… Thanks. It’s, uhm, I made it myself. Well, not made it, made it. Just- miracled it,” he answered. “You like it?” he asked, as if that just had hit him.

“I do, yes. It really suits you,” Aziraphale said as he turned his head to look at Crowley in an attempt to reinforce the message. He miscalculated and accidentally bumped his nose with Crowley’s. “Oh, sorry, dear,” he giggled. “This cuddling activity does shorten distances.” Aziraphale let out an awkward chuckle before resuming his fire staring.

“I guess it does, yeah,” Crowley agreed and did his own version of an awkward chuckle. 

The fire was slowly dying, leaving warm embers behind. It had been a long time since the Christmas music had faded away, but neither of them had noticed it. Crowley yawned and slowly closed his eyes, giving in to the warm comfort of the moment.

“Crowley, you seem tired. Should we put this on hold so you can take a nap?” Aziraphale started to get up but found a firm hand pushing him back.

“It’s alright, angel. I can doze off here. If you don’t mind,” he slurred, sleepiness taking over him.

“Oh, of course I don’t mind. But, Crowley, wouldn’t it be more… I mean, if you are alright with it, that is,” Aziraphale said, struggling to make his point. “Perhaps it would be best if we laid down? Make it more comfortable for you while exploring the next phase of cuddling? For research purposes,” Aziraphale finally suggested. That woke up the demon enough for him to open his eyes and stare at the angel’s temple trying to process it.

“Uh… yeah, yeah, why not? Good idea, actually,” he stammered. Aziraphale slowly set himself free of the embrace and shuddered at the loss of contact. He helped Crowley to a lying position, and rested his head on the demon’s chest. Crowley threw his arm around Aziraphale’s shoulders once more and Aziraphale threw his arm around Crowley’s belly.

“You were right, angel. This is good,” Crowley murmured, tilting his face just enough to rest it on top of Aziraphale’s head.

“It is… We could even do this again.” Aziraphale turned his face up to look at the demon. Crowley turned his in response and looked at him through almost closed eyelids. The angel was looking at him with his wide grey eyes, pouting just a little bit. The demon could not resist that look, not in a million years.

“Whatever you want, angel,” he said and, feeling brave for a moment, he leaned forward to gently kiss him on the tip of his nose. Much like Aziraphale had bumped their noses earlier that day, Crowley failed to calculate the new shortened distances they were working with and ended up clashing his lips against that little pout. “Ngk!” He backed up as quickly as he could, eyes wide open in fear, and saw Aziraphale’s startled expression. “Wh- Sorry, I’m- Just- Nhgh.” Crowley didn’t dare to move, not that his limbs would have responded.

“Crowley I-” Aziraphale suddenly felt he needed to apologise. “It’s ok,” he finally said. “I’m not mad, I- well, to be perfectly honest…” Aziraphale paused, looking for the right words. “I was kind of expecting this development of events,” he said. “If we were following typical human behaviour, that is,” he added. “It was good.”

“It was?” Crowley asked, trying to calm his hammering heart. It had happened so fast he couldn’t really recall it.

“It was for me. Wasn’t it for you?” Aziraphale asked, doubt in his voice.

“Uh… No, no. I mean, yes. I mean, I don’t know! I-” he dragged his free hand over his face, frustrated. He sighed before continuing, “It was too short so I don’t really know if it was  _ good _ or not.”

Aziraphale nodded, frowning a bit as he considered Crowley’s answer.

“Taking into account the evidence - that is, that humans do seem to enjoy it and that I found it to be good… Should we try it again? Slow enough for you to see if it’s good or not. For knowledge’s sake, of course” Aziraphale nodded again, happy with his own conclusion.

“That seems smart enough,” Crowley said.

“Alrighty then,” Aziraphale said. “Shall I?” he offered and put his hand on Crowley’s cheek. “To avoid miscalculations,” he explained. Crowley nodded and took Aziraphale by the wrist before closing the distance between them at a painstakingly slow pace. He could now baske on Aziraphale’s gentle eyes, his perky nose, his flushed cheeks, his soft lips. He momentarily wondered if they would be as soft as they looked. He internally shrugged, he was about to find out.

Dreading and longing for the moment, Crowley finally covered the last inch between them and placed his lips over Aziraphale’s. His heartbeat was deafening in his ears and his nose was overwhelmed by the angel’s scent but what he would recall afterwards was the gentleness of the touch, how warmer and sweeter than anticipated it was. This was definitely  _ good _ .

Just too soon, Aziraphale broke the kiss but didn’t part from Crowley. He stayed there, mere inches away - a distance so short it could be so easily covered - and looked at Crowley, waiting.

“Was that good?” Aziraphale whispered in a trembling voice.

Words abandoned Crowley once more but he didn’t mind. Instead, he drew Aziraphale close and kissed him deeply, a confirmation that it wasn’t good. It was perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> Hullo! I hope you enjoyed this little piece I put together today for the Ineffable Holiday prompt list. I know I did, but I don't know if you did so please don't hesitate telling me if so :)


End file.
